Illinois House vote: The NRA loses big

A Democratic backer of legislation to curb gun violence rolled over a National Rifle Association-backed former congresswoman Tuesday in a special primary to fill the U.S. House seat formerly occupied by Jesse Jackson Jr.

Robin Kelly, Cook County’s chief administrative officer, had a three-to-one lead over ex-U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson in a congressional district that includes the south side of Chicago, as well as Cook County and rural precincts.

With the gun issue front and center, the NRA got a dose — a big dose — of its own medicine. The NRA had given Halvorson an “A-plus” rating when she was in Congress.

The Independence USA “SuperPAC” of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg saturated Chicago airwaves with an estimated $2 million in advertising that denounced Halvorson. Bloomberg, a political independent, is the public face of a nationwide organization of mayors against gun violence.

The liberal dailykos.com website picked out Kelly early in the campaign and raised $113,000 to back her congressional bid. She has developed a reputation as a reformer and “clean” in the rough-and-tumble world of Illinois politics.

The general election on April 9 is considered a formality in the heavily Democratic district.

Chicago experienced 500 murders in 2012. A random gang shooting recently claimed the life of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old honor student who performed at President Obama’s second inauguration.

First lady Michelle Obama came to Pendleton’s funeral. The girl’s parents sat in the House gallery as President Obama, in his State of the Union speech, asked Congress to vote on anti-violence legislation.

Ex-U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., pleads guilty to using $750,000 in campaign money for personal use, including a $48,000 Rolex watch and $4,600 for a fedora once worn by Michael Jackson

The Illinois House seat became vacant with Jackson’s resignation.

The once-promising congressman has pleaded guilty to using as much as $750,000 in campaign money to finance a lavish personal lifestyle. He spent $48,000 on a gold-pated Rolex watch, $5,150 for “fur capes and parkas” and $4,600 for a fedora once worn by Michael Jackson.

Halvorson was the lone white candidate in the contest to succeed Jackson and was thought to have a good chance to emerge from the Democratic primary with a plurality.

Riding the gun issue, however, Kelly won endorsements from such local powers as U.S. Reps. Danny Davis and Bobby Rush. It was Rush who defeated then-state Sen. Barack Obama when Obama challenged him in a 2000 primary.